Ticats upend Argos, advance to East final
Hamilton wins on last-second field goal; face Ottawa for chance at Grey Cup appearance
Jeremiah Masoli started the season fourth on the quarterback depth chart, but he will be leading the Hamilton Tiger-Cats into the CFL Eastern final.
The 27-year-old out of Ole Miss led the Ticats to a 25-22 victory over the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL East semifinal on Sunday and head coach Kent Austin didn't hesitate post-game to declare he would start next week against Ottawa.
"I can't say enough about him," said Austin. "The way he responded, how he handled the situation, not only during this week but during the game — he handled it like a true pro."
It was not a pretty victory. Masoli had completed only five of 11 passes for 26 yards and an interception early into the third quarter when Austin pulled him out and replaced him with Jacory Harris for a couple of series. Austin said he wanted the stocky pivot to settle down and discuss the plan going forward.
The Ticats were down 18-6 when Masoli re-entered the game. He made all seven of his pass attempts from that point, including a 41-yard TD pass to Bakari Grant, and scored a TD on a one-yard run.
He finished the game 12 of 18 for 141 yards, one interception, one TD and one rushing TD. He also scrambled for 58 yards.
Saw what they were doing
"I can't really put my finger on it right now, maybe if I watch the film," he said of his turnaround. "I did use that as an opportunity to look at the defence from the back and just see what they were doing spacing-wise and they had a couple little minor adjustments that I was able to see."
Hamilton has started four different quarterbacks this season.
The Ticats were off to an 8-3 start with Zach Collaros under centre and the team looking untouchable. Then Collaros went down with an injury in Week 13 against Edmonton.
Hamilton limped through the rest of the regular season, finishing with a 10-8 record. Sunday's playoff victory was only the third win since Collaros' injury.
Austin said the team's injury difficulties have been no different than any other team.
"We just have our own sack of rocks to carry like everybody else does," he said.
Short-yardage pivot Jeff Mathews became the starter for five of those games. But he went down with a concussion in the second-last game of the regular season against Ottawa.
Matthews was replaced by Jacory Harris, who started in the final regular-season game in Ottawa. Masoli replaced him midway through that game.